Stocking hanger



April 12, 1949- w. J. CROSBY 2,467,011

STOCKING HANGER Filed y 28, 1947 INVENTQR,

MW+W

Patented Apr. 12, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

This invention relates to hangers and means to provide an improvedstocking hanger.

In the past, it has been customary for women to wash their stockings inthe evening and then to drape them over a rack to dry. The foldedstockings dry slowly and often occupy space which could be used tobetter advantage by towels or washcloths. I have discovered that asmall, inexpensive but attractive stocking hanger can be provided forthis purpose.

The hanger which I have invented consists of a frame which may be madefrom molded materials which are plastic when heated but set to a hardand rigid state when cooled. The frame has a central neck and a pair ofarms whose outer ends are provided with a flat downwardly inclined lowersurface. Each arm is provided with a pair of channels for the receptionof a spring. One of these channels extends vertically through the armadjacent its end. The other channel is inclined upwardly and outwardlyfrom the neck to a mouth which is located in the upper face of the armsat a point between the neck and the vertical channel. The spring extendsfrom the inclined channel to a point above the vertical channel and hasa le extending through the vertical channel for up and down movement andthe end of the spring normally bears against the lower surface of theend of the arm. A hook is attached to the frame at its neck. The frameis preferably made from a pair of molded longitudinal members whoseinner faces are attached to each other and are symmetrically grooved toprovide the channels in the frame.

In order that my invention will be clearly understood, 1 will describethe specific embodiment which I now prefer and which is illustrated onan enlarged scale in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the hanger;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of one of the longitudinal members showingthe sprin and hook and the grooves provided for them in the inner faceof that member;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the hanger illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fdig. 4 is a section along the lines 4-4 in Fig. 1; an

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevation illustrating a modified form ofspring.

The hanger illustrated in the drawings consists .of a frame 1 equippedwith a wire hook 8 and a flat steel spring 9. The frame 1 has a centralneck III and a pair of arms II'. The ends M of arms II have downwardlyinclined lower surfaces l5. The frame I is constructed from a pair ofmolded plastic longitudinal members l6 each of which has a pair ofvertical grooves H, a pair of inclined grooves I8 and a central groovel9 terminating in an indentation 20.

The spring 9 is bent to provide a central portion which fits in theinclined grooves l8, a pair of vertical legs 22 which fit in the groovesl1 and ends 23 which normally bear against the lower surfaces 15 of theends of arms H. The hook 8 has a shank 24 which fits in the centralgroove l9 and a ball 25 which fits in the indentation 20.

The hanger is assembled by placing the shank 26 and ball 25 in thegroove [9 and indentation 20 respectively, and by placing the spring 9in grooves ll, l8 of one of the longitudinal members It. The otherlongitudinal member is then fitted against the first longitudinal memberso that the corresponding grooves of these two members coincide toprovide channels for the central portion and legs 22 of spring 9, andfor the shank 24. The indentations 20 provide a socket for the ball 25.The two longitudinal members It are then fastened to each other. Thiscan be done conveniently by molding a hole 2'1 in each arm II and thenforcing a plug 28 into each pair of registering holes 21. The plug 28 ispreferably molded from a plastic material of the same composition as themembers I6, and the plugs are softened by a solvent before they areinserted in the holes 21. Then, when the solvent dries, the plugs 28 arefirmly cemented to the longitudinal members H5.

The spring 9 projects from the inclined passageways formed by thegrooves l8 to points above the passageways formed by the grooves H. Tosuspend a stocking from a hanger, it is merely necessary to depress oneof the ends 23 as illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, by grasping thecorresponding arm I I and the portion of spring 9 which is directlyabove it and squeezing them together. An end of the stocking is thenplaced between spring end 23 and the face l5 and the spring is released.In order that the sprin 9 may be easily flexed in this manner, thegrooves l8 flare outwardly to provide wide mouths at the outer ends ofthose grooves, while the inner ends of the grooves I8 are so narrow thatthere is substantially no play between them and the spring 9.

It will be noted that the lower surfaces [5 of the end of each arm I I,and the ends 23 of the spring 9, are inclined downwardly. Consequently,if a stocking suspended from the hanger were pulled without depressingthe end of spring 9, it would slip away from the hanger without beingtorn. Further provision for insuring against tearing a stocking undersuch circumstances is illustrated in Fig. 5, where the end 23 of spring9 is rounded at 30.

The channel and socket provided for shank 24 and ball 25 aresufliciently large to permit hook 8 to be rotated. As a result, thehanger may be suspended from a fixture whether it is parallel to, orprojects at an angle from, a wall. The dimensions of my hanger may besuch that it is only three or four inches from end to end. Consequently,it is very convenient, occupies very little space and can be readilysuspended from practically any bathroom fixture. It can be given a veryattractive appearance by coating the hook 8 and spring 9 with an enamelwhose color is the same as, or blends with, the color of the materialfrom which the frame I is made.

The terms which I have used are terms of description and not oflimitation, and it will be appreciated that modifications may be made inthe specific embodiment which I have described without departing from myinvention as defined in the following claims.

What I claim is:

l. A stocking hanger comprising a frame having a central neck and a pairof arms, each of said arms having an end with a fiat downwardly inclinedlower surface, a vertical channel extending through the arm adjacentsaid end, and an inclined channel leading outwardly and upwardly to theupper face of the arm at a point between said vertical channel and theneck; a spring extending from the inclined channel to a point above thevertical channel and having a leg extending through the vertical channelfor up and down movement therein, and an end norm-ally engaging thelower surface of the end of the arm;

and a hook extending upward from said neck.

2. A stocking hanger comprising a frame having a central neck and a pairof arms, each of said arms having an end with a fiat downwardly inclinedlower surface, a vertical channel extending through the arm adjacentsaid end, and an inclined channel leading outwardly and upwardly to theupper face of the arm at a point between said vertical channel and theneck; a spring extending from the inclined channel to a point above thevertical channel and having a leg extending through the vertical channelfor up and down movement therein, and a rounded end normally engagingthe lower surface of the end of the arm; and a hook extending upwardfrom said neck.

3. A stocking hanger comprising a molded plastic frame having a centralneck and a pair ofarms, each of said arms having an end with a flatdownwardly inclined lower surface, a vertical channel extending throughthe arm adjacent said end, and an inclined channel leading outwardly andupwardly to the upper face of the arm at a point between said verticalchannel and the neck; a spring extending from the inclined channel to apoint above the vertical channel and having a leg extending through thevertical channel for up and down movement therein, and an end normallyengaging the lower surface of the end of the arm; and a hook journaledin said neck.

4. Astocking hanger comprising a frame having a central neck and a pairof arms, each of said arms having an end with a flat downwardly inclinedlower surface, a vertical channel extending through the arm adjacentsaid end, and an inclined channel flaring outwardly and upwardly to awide mouth located in the upper face of the arm at a point between saidvertical channel and 4 the neck; a spring extending from the inclinedchannel to a point above the vertical channel and having a leg extendingthrough the vertical channel for up and down movement therein, and anend normally engaging the lower surface of the end of the arm; and ahook extending upward from said neck.

5. A stocking hanger comprising a frame having a central neck and a pairof arms, each of said [arms having an end with a fiat downwardlyinclined lower surface, a vertical channel extending through the armadjacent said end, and an inclined channel in one arm leading outwardlyand upwardly from the inner end of the corresponding channel in theother arm to the upper face of the arm at a point between said verticalchannel and the neck; a spring extending from the inclined communicatingchannels to points above the vertical channels and having legs extendingthrough the vertical channels for up and down --movement therein, andends normally engaging the lower surfaces of the ends of the arms; and ahook journaled in said neck.

6. A stocking hanger comprising a frame composed of a pair of moldedplastic longitudinal members whose inner faces are attached to eachother, and having a central neck and a pair of arms each having an outerend with a downwardly inclined lower surface, the inner faces of saidmembers being symmetrically grooved to provide in the frame a centralchannel terminating in a socket, a pair of vertical channels extendingthrough said arms adjacent their ends, and a pair of inclined channelscommunicating with each other in the neck and each flaring outwardly andupwardly to a wide mouth in the upper face of the arm between the neckand one of said vertical channels; a spring extending through theinclined channels to a point above each of said vertical channels andhaving legs extending through the vertical channels for up and downmovement therein, and ends normally engaging said lower surfaces of theends of the respective arms; and a hook having a shank mounted in thecentral channel and terminating in a ball journ'aled in said socket. v

7. A stocking hanger comprising a channeled frame having a central neckand a pair of arms, each of said arms having an end with a flatdownwardly inclined lower surface; an M-shaped spring having a pair ofinner legs and a pair of outer legs mounted in said framefor limited upand down movement, each of the inner legs extending upwardly andoutwardly from a channel in said necktoa point above the upper surfaceof said arms, each of the outer legs extending downward from an innerleg through a channel in an arm and having an end normally engaging thelower surface of the end of the arm; and a hook extending upward fromsaid neck.

WILLIAM J. CROSBY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Flocco Dec. 17, 1935

